


Releasing A Prince

by Eternal Scribe (Shadowcat)



Category: The Royals - Erin Watt
Genre: Coda, Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 02:09:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9101662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcat/pseuds/Eternal%20Scribe
Summary: Gideon has been going through hell, but Ella has finally found a way to free her new big brother.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I blame my friend, Fi, for this. She got me into the series and then I just had to write this after something that was stated in the epilogue of the third book.

It doesn’t really surprise me when Gideon enters the house and the first thing he does is grab me up in a tight hug.

He hugs me close, letting out a breath before loosening his hold and looking down into my face. “Are you doing okay?”

I nod at him, smiling slightly when concern mixes with relief in his eyes. To see us now, you’d never guess that a few short months ago he and his brothers hated me and were suspicious about why their father had brought an underage girl to live in their home. They thought the worst of me, but in time, they came to accept me and even look out for me. They call me sister, now, well four out of five of them do. My relationship with Reed is definitely not a sibling one.

His question is one I’ve been getting a lot from all five of the Royal boys since that horrible night a week ago at Steve’s penthouse. The night when I found out my father had killed someone and tried to pin it on my boyfriend.

The night he would have probably killed me to keep his secret if his wife hadn’t heard us and come to my rescue.

Knowing that I could have been killed had ratcheted up all of their protective instincts. It was nice having a real family, so I wasn’t too upset about it. I just wish that I could stop them all from worrying so much about what had happened.

But they are Royals and like everything else, they were incredibly stubborn about this.

“I’m fine, I promise,” I reassure him as I squeeze his hand gently. “Like I told you on the phone, he jerked me around a little bit and he scared me, but he didn’t truly harm me.”

“Because of Dinah.” His upper lip curls with distaste as he says her name and I truly don’t blame him. Dinah O’Halloran has made his life a living hell. 

A hell that I have now put a stop to.

Smiling as he lets me go, I take his hand and gently tug him to the stairs. “Let’s go to my room so that we can talk privately.” He looks concerned and I shake my head. “I’m okay, Gideon, I swear. I just have some news for you that you can decide if you’re sharing with anyone else.”

“Ella, if something has happened and you’re thinking of running again, I’m not going to let you or keep it a secret. You’re family and we need you as much as you need us. I’ll hunt you down myself this time.”

“Gid, I promise, I am not thinking about running away again. This is a good thing,” I say as we reach my bedroom and I gesture to the extra chair as I shut my bedroom door. “It’s just I have a gift for you and it's up to you whether you tell your brothers or not.”

He still looks worried, but sits down after I sit on the edge of my bed and face him.

“What’s going on, Ella?”

I wait until he’s situated and then I give him a gentle smile. “What’s going on, Gideon, is that you are free. Dinah will never bother you again.”

I watch his eyes as his brain processes what I have just told him. I know it will take him a few minutes to understand what I’ve just said. After all, my _father's_ wife had been putting my oldest adopted brother through hell for some time.

“I don’t understand.”

“I made an arrangement with the soulless bitch,” I say easily. “I got her to burn every shred of blackmail material she was holding over your head. The printed pictures, the thumb drive she’d been saving with the images from your phone, the legal paperwork she’d told you she would file with the court, everything. It’s gone, Gideon. She can’t hurt you any more.”

“She told you she’d done this?”

I snort and it makes him smile a little. “I wouldn’t believe anything that bitch tells me. No, I stood at her side as she burned everything in the fireplace. After everything was burned, I gathered the ashes and scattered them.”

Gideon stares at me and he swallows a few times. I know he probably has lots of questions, but that’s okay with me. I have lots of answers.

“Why? How? She said that she would never… that I had to…”

“I had something she wanted very badly, big brother. I’ve learned that money really does talk and gets things done.”

“Ella.” Gideon’s voice is a whisper. “What did you do?”

I should have known that he would want details. I guess if I was in his position, I would want to know how I was suddenly granted my freedom. So, while I had the answers he wanted, I know that he’s probably not going to like what I’ve done. Good thing I didn’t ask his permission to help him.

“I simply spoke her language, Gid. I gave her half of Steve’s money.”

“You did what?!” I kid you not, he actually roars. I have never heard him sound like that and if I didn’t know he wouldn’t ever do something to harm me, I might have flinched back. But instead, I just sit quietly and let him react. “No, Ella! You deserved that money and she had no right to any of it!”

Ah, so my first thoughts about this were right. He’s enraged that Dinah now has something that the Royals all viewed as rightfully mine.

“Gideon,” I say patiently as I watch him pace. “I still have plenty of money set up for me so that I will never again have to worry about anything. Hell, my grandchildren will never have to worry, either. Plus, I still have Steve’s half of the company.” That was because Callum had refused to take it when I offered it to him free and again when I offered to sell it to him. “I still have so much so I don’t feel I really lost anything by giving it to her. In fact, I feel like I gained something.”

I have. I gained the knowledge that Dinah could never touch Gideon again. I gained the gift that now I could watch the shadows eventually fade from Gideon’s eyes.

“Why?”

“Family first, right? You’re family and I had the ability to stop a gross woman from tormenting my brother.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Ella. What’s to stop her from trying to screw with you in the future?”

Ah. So he’s worried about me. No one would ever have guessed that the Royal boys all have a little bit if a hero complex.

“The carefully worded legal contract that says she’ll lose all of the money I gave her if she comes near me or mine again.” That had been a beautiful extra touch that Dinah hadn’t expected. “Since we’re family, you fall under the protective words of being mine.”

Gideon is still staring at me slight shock when there is a quick tap on my door. He doesn’t even move when Reed, followed by Easton, walk in. Easton leans against the door and Reed drops to the bed, pulling my back against his chest.

“I see she told you,” Easton says cheerfully. 

Gideon looks over at Easton before snapping his gaze to Reed. “I can’t believe you let her do this.”

Reed laughs, shaking his head. “Bro, I didn’t know what she was planning until it was already done. In fact, I only found out about it an hour ago.”

“Dinah is very rich now on her own,” I say with a grin. “It’s her money and she’s not beholden to Steve in any way. She won’t do anything to risk losing all of that.”

All three of the boys are quiet and I look from one to another to see if I can tell what they may be thinking.

“I owe you,” Gideon finally says, his voice is choked and I move from Reed’s arms to hug him.

“No, Gid, you don’t owe me anything. I was really damn glad I had the means to help you and get that bitch’s claws out of you.”

He takes a deep breath and buries his face in my hair for a few moments as I hold him. After a few moments, he straightens up and I step back.

“I know that this is a lot to process, so the three of us are going to head on downstairs and hang out a little before dinner. You can stay here or you can go hide out in your room.” I smile at him. “But you’re not alone, Gideon. I take care of my family, too.”

I’m at the door with Reed and Easton when Gideon speaks again.

“Ella, thank you.”

“Your welcome, Gideon.” Before leaving my bedroom, I turned back to look at my brother. “Gideon?”

“Yeah?”

“Call Savannah. You don’t have to tell her everything, but don’t you think it’s about time she got some real answers since the two of you still aren’t over each other?”

I leave my room and close the door before he can respond.


End file.
